The Nose Knows All
by TXJ
Summary: A year has passed since Pain destroyed the village. The people need to celebrate, and some of our fav. young ninja pull away from the festival to celebrate in a closer knit group. Kakashi pissed that Tsunade is trying to force his hand into taking control of the village before he is ready stumbles upon the group and is content to watch unnoticed. Or so he thinks...
1. The Nose Knows

**AN:** Fair warning, this isn't Beta read. It's a thought that has been circling in my head, and had a break through to a full plot bunny tonight. There will be one more chapter. And yes, this will end in shameless KakaSaku #sorryNotsorry

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To say that Kakashi was worked up would have been a misleading. He wasn't looking for a fight, he wasn't aiming to defend. No, he was simply pissed off. S-Ranked mission his ass. Tsunade had handed him a D-Ranked mission trussed up to look like something of interest. Escorting a nobleman's three younger daughters to his oldest daughter's upcoming wedding location.

The nobleman, wealthy, had enemies in high places. His younger daughters, thirteen to twenty-one in age, all spoiled princesses. That wasn't anything Kakashi couldn't have dealt with and shrugged off. Frequent stops, whining, and other snoody behaviors were nothing new.

No, the part that pissed him off was that the only threat he had encountered on the whole voyage came from the little princesses. All three of which seemed to be ready at the drop of a hat to oneup each other in an attempt to unmask and de-pant him.

Contrary to common belief, the flattery and won-ton sexual lust of pretty women was not something that appealed to him. It wasn't because he preferred books either, he just found such behavior and forwardness unsettling.

Kakashi had a deep seeded hunch this mission being a pathetic use of his skills wasn't accidental. Tsunade had been pushing for the last couple of months now that he start taking his duties as next in line as hokage seriously. He had been avoiding it, pushing himself to train and take missions when possible. Adjusting to life with normal vision, and without the chidori.

He was within minutes of the village walls now, his mind made up to wander the village until the sun rises, he figured that would be roughly four hours give or take a handful of minutes.

His return travels should have ensured that he missed the opening day of the first annual 'Hidden Leaf Renewal Festival', a nice way of saying 'One Year since the reconstruction of Pain's Destruction'. The people needed something to celebrate though.

His trip had been quiet, just the smells of surrounding woodland, a passing patrol - Gazeru's, and…. wait, his team -former team, and more. This made him slow, subtle he shifted his direction towards the gathering of sents.

His nose was soon met with that of burning wood, cautiously edging closer, careful to stay down wind and in the shadows, his ears were soon met by laughter. So they were celebrating, seeking solitude from the rest of the village.

He started to leave, let the young keep each other company. That was until he heard what they were up to..

"Sakura-chan's turn, that was two dares in a row so you have to take a truth!" Naruto exclaimed loud enough that all of Suna should have been able to hear him.

"Idiot, quit making up rules. No one ever said such a thing." Sakura's reply was a bit softer, but still loud.

"Come on Sakura, it's no fun if you don't ever drink, you'll be the only undrunk among us." the Inuzuka kid, who seemed to have already had more than his share of drink.

"Yeah, Forehead!"

"Shut it Pig. Fine, give me a shot. Don't forget, anything said ever leaves this clearing and I know how to end you with one finger." Kakashi was close enough that he could see the flicker of chakra radiate from her finger to drive the point home.

Savior or Death sentence, Tsunade had created an angel of vengeance in that one.

Sakura knocked back the shot.

"Goodie… " Naruto was rubbing his hands together in excitement, the firelight making him look demonic.

"Naruto sit down, it's my question to ask." Shikamaru's always bored voice entoned.

"Sakura, what was the last book you read?"

What a boring question, for the brilliant mind that Shikamaru had, he sure wasn't imaginative.

"Prolly some medical book. Why did you give her an easy one?" Naruto sighed, clearly thinking the same thing Kakashi had been.

However Sakura hesitated, for a moment Kakashi wondered if she couldn't remember, but after a moment it became clear that she was clamping her mouth shut. Like something was trying to force words from her mouth that she didn't want to share.

What he wouldn't have given for the sharingan right then. It didn't feel like someone was using a genjutsu, and Sakura was practically immune to those anyhow.

"Bawh!" her restraint gave out, or whatever was enacted won out. "Icha Icha Tactics" she looked mortified.

Naruto laughed.

"Such a hypocrite! Oh, wait till I tell Kakashi-sensei. All those times you called him pervert! And you're no better." Naruto danced and laughed, tripping over the log he had been sitting on.

"It doesn't leave this circle Naruto, you made the same promise." Shikamaru reminded him.

Naruto made a disappointed face, but placed his hands up in surrender.

Sakura huffed "Kiba"

"Truth" his voice was filled with over confidence bolstered by drunken confidence, which was added to by a shot that was knocked back easily.

"Is Kakashi Hatake related to the Inuzuka Clan?" Sakura asked, her words measured, as if she were carefully weighing them to prevent misdirection of the meaning of her words.

Kakashi became painfully aware of how quiet the circle went. He couldn't see Kiba's face as his back was to him, but he could see the tension in the younger man.

Kiba let out a bark of laughter, like a playing dog.

"No one has ever mentioned it to me if he is. Ability like his you think we would be trying to claim him if he was our bloodline."

Kiba moved around the fire next to Sakura, but Kakashi hadn't missed the hand sign of "yes".

So maybe this game was just a matter of shinobi skill after all.

"Why haven't you asked him if you wondered?" Kiba's face split wide with a grin.

"Kakashi, talk about himself. It'd be easier to get that damned mask off of him." she spit.

"Why the interest in Kakashi-sensei all of a sudden Sakura-chan?" Naruto chimed in.

"I'm not, you brought him up, I was having a hard time thinking of anything I'd wanna ask Kiba. Not like I wanna another retelling of his sexual exploits."

"Why not, you seem to be int- oufff!" Kiba's jibe was cut off by a sharp elbow.

Kakashi shook his head, the guy had to be wasted have moved within thrashing distance of Sakura.

"Eh, Ino"

"Truth." she responded, Sakura pulled a face and Kakashi couldn't help but muse that some things, like childhood rivalry, died hard.

"Are you still into Sasuke?" Naruto asked asked once the mandatory shot had been taken.

"Nope, haven't been since graduation, only acted the part to get a rise out of Forehead."

Kakashi expected a fight, and made to clear the area and leave the young adults to enjoy the revelry. However the reaction he expected never came.

Sakura didn't look shocked or scandalized. She looked amused at her comrades expressions.

"Old news guys, but now you know."

"You could have told me! I wasted a good question, for you!" Naruto exclaimed.

"I didn't ask you to. Not like the arguing between you and Sasuke is any different."

Save they had never cost each other a limb.

Sparks lit the night sky as Shikamaru tossed another log on.

Kakashi couldn't remember spending an evening like this, two wars in a lifetime makes for little peace time. To watch them relaxed, and simply enjoying each other's company, he could get use to this.

"Truth" Sakura responded, Naruto had completed a dare while Kakashi zoned out.

"Are you still in love with Sasuke?"

Silence enveloped the group again.

Sakura wasn't fighting this time, but she remained silent for long moments.

"You know it will make you tell the truth Sakura." Ino pointed out, watching her friend with baited breath.

"I know, but… I love him, I'm just. I'm not in love with him. Not anymore. I don't want him to feel like he is alone anymore." Her last words were weak, like she was trying to justify what she felt.

No one spoke for awhile.

Kakashi smiled. So her resolve had been true. Maybe not at the time, but seeing him return, and what it took to get through to him, she had realized how misguided her feeling were.

"Kiba" Sakura had a promising look of revenge in her eyes.

"Dare"

"I dare you to light a stink pellet on fire and stand in the smoke until it burns out."

Kiba blanched, even with the flickering fire light his dread was clear.

"You know that is pure torture. I'd rather let Ibiki rip off all my nails and pull my canines."

"Are you backing out?" Sakura asked, with an evil gleam in her eyes.

"Yes. That would take me off the active roster for a month if I did that. That isn't a fair request." Suddenly, Kiba wasn't seeming so drunk. If anything he seemed a bit angry at the unfairness of the request.

"Fine, I'll let you change it to a double truth." Sakura coincided with a small amount of sulk in her voice.

"Thanks." his smile was weak though, Sakura had managed a hard blow to the man's ego.

He knocked back the first shot

"Question number one?"

"What is the most embarrassing situation your nose has gotten you into?"

"Shit." Kiba exclaimed. He looked to Shikamaru for help, or maybe just to avoid the intent gaze Sakura had on him.

"Prolly the one that lead to the existence of Miria." Kiba coughed out.

Kakashi found himself biting his cheek to keep from chortling. He could relate. Smelling when others were in 'heat' as the Inuzuka clan often mislabeled it was not the most comfortable of situations. It took a little bit of time to learn how to look a person in the eye when you could smell what they had been recently doing and who they had been doing it with.

"You walked in on Asuma-sensei and Kurenai-sensei?" Ino blurted out.

"No, I passed by them shortly after they had done the deed. Really do I have to explain this? It's so personal and wrong! It isn't anyone else's business and I wish I didn't know." Kiba turned away from the group, glaring into the night. The moonlight reflected in his eyes, and Kakashi froze, it was like Kiba was glaring right at him.

"I'm sorry Kiba, I didn't realize the answer would be so upsetting to you." Sakura's voice was meek, regretful, but there was something more there. It was her thinking voice.

That voice usually lead to trouble.

"Wait, that was before your nose was more powerful than a nin-kin's. So does that mean that Kakashi? Oh no." the last part was moaned in mortification by Sakura.

Kiba had downed the second shot as she started speaking.

"Yup. Why do you think he wasn't there as you were growing from little girl into a woman. Our clan has procedures in place to handle such things, but for the Third to have given Kakashi a female on his team, well, Mom objected." Kiba shrugged.

Then he turned, looking straight at Kakashi and asked.

"You wanna explain it to her Hatake-sama?"

Kakashi did the only reasonable thing and vanished from the spot in a whirl of leaves and smoke.

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 **End Notes:** I have nothing to bribe for reviews with.


	2. Barking At Stars

Being launched through the air by the demon fox spirit he could handle. Face him with former students clearly under the effects of alcohol and some form of truth serum, and he beat a hasty retreat.

He had thought about stretching out on Tsunade's nose, but the monument would have been too easy of a place to find him. So he settled for the training fields. He flitted through a few of them before settling on one geared more towards water based training.

The small mound of land he now resided on wasn't even big enough for him to lay down on without getting his feet wet, so he sat.

Kakashi closed his eyes, took several deep breaths and allowed his ears and nose to take over. He could hear the turtle that was swimming by, and the hawk overhead, smells of the surrounding village drifted in, but the gentle rippling of the water muted most of it.

He knew Kiba was there, and hoped the younger man would pass by, and leave him to his odd form of meditation.

However Kakashi wasn't to be that lucky. The other man's presence remained on the far shore, his gaze drilling a hole into Kakashi's concentration.

So he got up and slowly made his way to shore.

"Yo." It was greeting and a device of measuring intent.

The air of anger seemed to be gone, but Kakashi knew he wasn't beyond being fooled.

"She already knew, you know?"

No hello, just straight to the point.

"But did everyone else?" Kakashi's question put Kiba at unease.

"Since when does what others think matter to you?" His words were defensive, and carried a slight snarl.

"I don't, but she does." Kakashi countered, his tone even to prevent the situation from escalating.

Except Kiba's sudden change in expression gave him the distinct feeling that he had just walked into a trap. For the briefest of moments the young man's face morphed into a large satisfactory grin then just as quickly shifted to a neutral expression.

"What?" Kakashi asked mildly annoyed. Following Kiba as he plopped down on a near by boulder overlooking the water.

"Nothing, cousin" Kiba sing-songed

Kakashi clinched his teeth.

"Your mother would maul you if she heard you say that."

"Things are changing, I meant what I said. You are part Inuzuka, to deny you your heritage would be foolish on our part. Don't be surprised when they start knocking on your door wanting you to acknowledge us." This was said with a grin and light tone.

However Kakashi was no novice to clan politics and knew better.

"My mother may have been an Inuzuka, but she left the pack for a coyote, and died giving birth to a mutt." He spoke the words with venom and didn't bother telling Kiba that those had been his grandfather's own words when Kakashi was left orphaned and Minato had approached the then clan head about taking him in.

Kakashi had made a silent vow to never put stock in clan worth at that point.

The younger man wisely sat in silence for a few heartbeats before speaking.

"Hana will lead soon. Tradition may hold importance but clan survival will not happen without change."

Kakashi merely gave a low hum of acknowledgement to the statement.

"Was that your idea of survival earlier? Calling me out like that?" he asked the question with a smile trying to keep his tone light.

Kiba let out a bark of laughter.

"You really don't get it do you? You of all people should see the error in the way you are thinking" his tone was full of disbelief and mirth.

Kakashi just stood silently, figuring that Kiba would eventually explain what it was that he had supposedly overlooked.

"Even that far gone, Naruto noticed you were headed back into town about ten minutes before anyone else picked up on it. He turned to Sakura and asked her if it was just him or did your chakra seem agitated. Of course she yelled at him because she couldn't even sense you yet, then got quiet. Her expression slightly worried. Both of them were reading the agitation in your chakra signature as some form of anger. My nose tells me otherwise, but don't worry, that is your business." His last comment left no room for misinterpretation as he gave a suggestive wiggle of his eyebrows.

Kiba laughed at him. Kakashi couldn't be mad, the dumbfounded look that had to be reflected in his own eyes would have humored him in any other situation; if it had been anybody else. Not only was he wrong were as he and Kiba talking about different things, but they had all been aware of him watching them, the entire time.

"I guess I should thank you for that." Kakashi was one of the few people that didn't mislabel the Inuzuka clan as 'tactless', they were a lot more so than most people ever knew. To have the depth of understanding and knowledge about the body language (both conscious and subconscious) that people displayed daily and not comment on it took a level of tact that even he hadn't mastered to the degree that some of their younger members have. He now added Kiba among that number.

"I am going to say this much, because she is a good friend, don't make her cry. I know it scares you, and maybe it is even a little weird, but don't lie to her. Don't devalue her feelings the way He did." the look in Kiba's eyes was that of a protective alpha in that moment.

Kakashi rubbed his brow pinching the bridge of his nose. He should have kept going until he was safe inside the village walls. This had left the door wide open for all sorts of conversations he wasn't really wanting to have. However he would have to have one more of them, and before sunrise would be the best option.

As if Kiba was fully aware of Kakashi's line of thought, he supplied.

"She headed towards that old bridge you guys would always meet at. If you hurry you may still catch her. She wasn't as far gone as the other three, but then again, she is Tsunade's apprentice."

This made Kakashi very aware of something.

"You aren't drunk in the least." he watched Kiba hop down from their perch.

"Not anymore. Faster metabolism, higher body temperature, burns the alcohol faster. I easily eat three times as much as Choji and no one has ever noticed because I eat all day.

"So you don't stay drunk for long." Kakashi shook his head, it explained a few things.

"No, but letting people think that I am allows me to say things that otherwise wouldn't be forgivable. And that should about make us even." Kiba turned with a wave and left Kakashi to his thoughts.

He found Sakura right where Kiba said she would be.

He watched her for a bit, staring out at the water below. Weight leaning on her arms, braced against the railing, toe of one sandle wiggling back and forth to some tempo only found in her head.

He couldn't deny the attraction he felt, on a physical level. Sakura was beautiful, and powerful. Acknowledging that a woman was appealing physically was easy, and he made peace with that knowledge easily. He wasn't even too surprised when he had come to realize that her wit and sense of humor had grown on him, along with her unsettling habit of holding a one sided conversation with him, and then simply smiling when he finally spoke, giving her the satisfaction that he had been listening the whole time.

The first seed of uneasiness had planted itself when he had finally had the moment to take stalk and realize that until Sasuke had attempted to kill Sakura, Kakashi had still held hope that their battle could end in something other than death. It took root when Sakura forgave Sasuke on the battlefield, something that Kakashi himself was not willing to do yet, leaving him a little upset with her.

Yet when the boys decided to have their little knock-down-blow-out heart to heart, Kakashi found himself only able to think about her. What the result of their battle would do to her heart. Keeping her safe, and sheltering her from the destruction that rained down on them, caused by the two fighting.

It had been easy to ignore until he had felt her hand on his chest as they watched Naruto and Sasuke fight Madara. She'd reached out to make contact with him instinctively, searching for the comfort of his presence, as they were both left behind to watch.

It would all have been so much easier to ignore, if it were only one sided, only attraction on his part. Him simply becoming the pervert society had viewed him as for years.

However, he hadn't missed that for the last year or so her body gave off signs of her attraction to him.

"Kakashi come here." Sakura's voice pulled him from his thoughts, her eyes hadn't left the water and she kept her back to him. He couldn't help but notice that she had given him more of a command than a request.

He stood beside her, his back against the rail, looking down at her. She looked up at him with concern on her face.

"Did you hit your head?" she reached toward him, gently probing with her chakra, analyzing him for injury.

He gently caught her wrists and directed her hand away from his face. He held on for a moment, as he spoke.

"I'm fine Sakura. What would make you think otherwise?" He was puzzled by her reaction and quickly chalked it up to the alcohol.. He hadn't been in any physical confrontation, and all he could smell on the air was the smoke that lingered on her cloths and a hint of her shampoo.

He let go of her hand and shoved his into his pockets to keep them occupied.

"You were rather obvious in the woods earlier, but for some reason thought your presence would go unnoticed. And now, you are spying on me again." her lip curled into a smirk, her concern vanishing into teasing.

"Earlier I was waiting for an invite. Just now" he paused, looking over his shoulder at the moonlight reflected on the water. "I was simply enjoying the view.." he was tempted to leave it at those words but a flex of her arm muscles told him she was tensing to strike so he added after a breath "same as you." They both knew he was blowing smoke, but the game still was fun.

"Waiting for an invite? Is that why you ran when Kiba gave you one?" Her tone light and teasing.

"Would you believe that I suddenly remembered I had promised to feed a friend's cat?" He gave his best innocent puppy face.

"As sincerely as I have believed every other excuse you have ever given." She gave him a cheeky smile.

"So if I invited you now, would you play?" Her eyes were trained on him, gauging his reaction.

"It's only you and me though?"" he countered.

"Exactly." she smiled back, this time more predatory. He wondered if she knew the thoughts that had been on his mind.

"I'll accept, but not here. Somewhere less exposed."

Before she could form a response he grabbed her wrist, for a second time, and took off with her in tow.

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Not gonna lie, no matter how many times I rewrote this chapter it kept wanting to be all dark and emo, and well my dear friend told me I'd lost all of the humor from the first chapter so I kept trying.

While not quite as fun as the first chapter I will extend this a bit longer and do my best to give a few laughs.


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